2006-08-06 05:56:54 · 20 answers · asked by ALAN B 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
They aren't fat - they have exactly the amount of body fat needed to survive in cold water at pressure........
2006-08-06 06:00:40 · answer #1 · answered by Storm Rider 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Whales go for up to six months without eating, and they're storing up blubber so they can live during that period.
When the pregnant female heads south to give birth to her calf, she stops eating. During the time she is nursing her calf, she does not eat. Not until the calf is weaned and she is on her way back to the cold northern waters does she begin to eat again.
Also -- tell your son that the whale's blubber streamlines it so it is one of the most efficient mammals to swim in the ocean. That's one reason it can swim the tremendous distances it does.
2006-08-06 13:21:21 · answer #2 · answered by old lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Whales are not fat in the sense tht they are obese.
Better think of it this way:
Fat whales = normally-built humans
Fat humans = nothing in whale world.
2006-08-06 06:47:19 · answer #3 · answered by da Benchee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
like the first answer said they need the blubber, but also they haven't changed much at all from when the dinosaurs roamed. There are many different species of whales and not all are big and fat.
2006-08-06 06:08:24 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's good for the whales to BE fat as it keeps them warm.
2006-08-06 06:01:54 · answer #5 · answered by Venus__05 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are fat with extremely good cardio-vascular health. If you want the same result, then swim in cool water. It is great cardio exercise, but does signal the body to store fat for insulation of the core temperature.
2006-08-06 06:01:21 · answer #6 · answered by Arrow 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess for the same reason that if you eat salad to lose weight, why do cows get fat on grass? Probably something to do with the way the food they eat is assimilated (the conversion of nutrients into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption.)
2006-08-06 06:41:54 · answer #7 · answered by NannyMcPhee 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask him to go swim in water just above freezing point for the rest of his life, and in the mean time swim to over 1000 m depth. He could start practicing in the local pond in wintertime and he will find out
2006-08-06 06:05:53 · answer #8 · answered by Caveman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What they all said.
A FAT whale is a healthy whale.
2006-08-06 06:03:00 · answer #9 · answered by Henry 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You've got a smart mouthed 10 year old.
Watch National Geographic/Discovery/David Attenborough and get the child educated.
Occasional answers like that are amusing, but don't let him/her get away with being rude.
2006-08-06 06:05:19 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋